Evidence map›Paper›PMID 34566663›Full record

ArticleFrontiers in pharmacology2021

Preclinical Evidence of Berberine on Non-Alcoholic Fatty Liver Disease: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis of Animal Studies.

Sichen Ren, Xiao Ma, Ruilin Wang, Honghong Liu, Ying Wei, Shizhang Wei, Manyi Jing, Yanling Zhao

Open access · goldAbstract read
In one paragraph

Article in Frontiers in pharmacology, 2021. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 6 papers, 2 of them syntheses that pooled it.

0numbers the graph read from it
0cells of the map it votes in
6citing papers in PubMed, 2 pooled it
3.6field-weighted citation impact, top 7% of its field
1 · What the graph read from it

What it found

Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.

The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.

2 · The registry

The trial behind it

Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.

Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.

3 · Its place in the literature

Who cites it

6 citing papers in PubMed, 2 syntheses or guidelines pooled it, 25 citations in OpenAlex.

  1. The Green Path to Liver Health: Herbal Solutions for Non-alcoholic Steatohepatitis.Cardiovascular & hematological disorders drug targets · 2025
    Pooled it
  2. Pooled it
  3. Article
  4. Article
  5. Article
  6. Isoschaftoside Reverses Nonalcoholic Fatty Liver Disease via Activating AutophagyEvidence-based complementary and alternative medicine : eCAM · 2022
    Article
4 · The record

Corrections and comments

PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.

5 · Who and what money

Authors and funding

8 authors at 2 institutions in 1 country.

Sichen RenDepartment of Pharmacy, The Fifth Medical Center of Chinese PLA General Hospital, Beijing, China.
Xiao MaSchool of Pharmacy, Chengdu University of Traditional Chinese Medicine, Chengdu, China.
Ruilin WangIntegrative Medical Center, The Fifth Medical Center of Chinese PLA General Hospital, Beijing, China.
Honghong LiuIntegrative Medical Center, The Fifth Medical Center of Chinese PLA General Hospital, Beijing, China.
Ying WeiDepartment of Pharmacy, The Fifth Medical Center of Chinese PLA General Hospital, Beijing, China.
Shizhang WeiDepartment of Pharmacy, The Fifth Medical Center of Chinese PLA General Hospital, Beijing, China.
Manyi JingDepartment of Pharmacy, The Fifth Medical Center of Chinese PLA General Hospital, Beijing, China.
Yanling ZhaoDepartment of Pharmacy, The Fifth Medical Center of Chinese PLA General Hospital, Beijing, China.
Chinese PLA General Hospital · CNChengdu University of Traditional Chinese Medicine · CN

Funding

No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.

6 · The paper itself

Abstract

As lifestyle and diet structure impact our health, non-alcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD) is prevalent all over the world. Some phytomedicines containing berberine (BBR) have been extensively used for centuries in Ayurvedic and traditional Chinese medicine. The goal of this systematic review is to investigate the preclinical evidence of BBR on NAFLD models. The following relevant databases, including Web of Science, PubMed, the Cochrane Library, and Embase, were retrieved from inception to May 2021. The content involved BBR on different animal models for the treatment of NAFLD. The SYstematic Review Center for Laboratory animal Experimentation (SYRCLE) Animal Experiment Bias Risk Assessment Tool was used to assess the methodological quality and RevMan 5.4 software was used to conduct the meta-analysis based on the Cochrane tool. A total of 31 studies involving 566 animals were included, of which five models and five animal breeds were reported. The results showed that TC, TG, ALT, AST, HDL-C, LDL-C, FBG, FINS, and FFA in the group treated with BBR were significantly restored compared with those in the model group. HOMA-IR had a significant downward trend, but the result was not significantly different (P = 0.08). The subgroup analysis of the different models and different animal breeds indicated that BBR could ameliorate the aforementioned indicator levels, although some results showed no significant difference. Finally, we summarized the molecular mechanisms by which berberine regulated NAFLD/NASH, mainly focusing on activating the AMPK pathway, improving insulin sensitivity and glucose metabolism, regulating mitochondrial function, reducing inflammation and oxidative stress, regulating cell death and ER stress, reducing DNA methylation, and regulating intestinal microenvironment and neurotoxicity. The preclinical evidence suggested that BBR might be an effective and promising drug for treating NAFLD/NASH. In addition, further studies with more well-designed researches are needed to confirm this conclusion.

Indexed as

animal studiesberberinemeta-analysisNAFLD/NASHpreclinical evidence

Identifiers

PMID34566663
PMCPMC8458904
OpenAlexW3196722510

What OpenQuestion holds

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LicenceCC BY
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Registered trials

None linked

Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.